Isolation and characterization of VUI-202012/01, a SARS-CoV-2 variant in travellers from the United Kingdom to India.

We have isolated the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 variant of concern 202 012/01 from the positive coronavirus disease 2019 cases that travelled from the UK to India in the month of December 2020. This emphasizes the need for the strengthened surveillance system to limit the local transmission of this new variant.